CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Dani Carnegie returned to action in style, scoring a career-high 29 points, lifting No. 18 Georgia Tech past Virginia, 75-62, Thursday night in John Paul Jones Arena. Four Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures, including Kayla Blackshear and Tonie Morgan, who both recorded double-doubles.
It was a tale of two quarters in the first half as Georgia Tech (17-3, 5-3 ACC) shot 50.0 percent in the opener and closed the period with a 15-0 run to lead 21-6 lead after the stanza. Rusne Augustinaite hit a three-pointer early in the second quarter to open a 26-6 lead, but Virginia would keep the Jackets at bay the remainder of the half and continue to crawl back. The Jackets’ 20-point lead quickly closed to 11 as the Cavaliers used an 11-2 run to setup a 30-19 tally. Carnegie would hit her fourth triple of the half to return a 16-point advantage to Tech, but Virginia closed the score to 36-24 at halftime.
Tech’s lead was quickly trimmed to single digits midway through the third period. Olivia McGhee hit a triple at 5:00 to create a 43-37 score. The Cavaliers would come within five in the third period, but Blackshear and Tonie Morgan hit back-to-back buckets to close the period before Carnegie was fouled on a three-point attempt to open the final period. The freshman converted all three free throws to return a 56-44 lead to Tech.
But the Cavaliers staged a late rally, creating a 9-0 run on a trio of three-pointers to come within one possession, 64-62, with 3:26 left to play. Morgan snapped the spurt as Virginia was held scoreless the remainder of the game and Tech posted 11 unanswered to seal the road win.
Tonie Morgan added a double-double of 11 points and 11 assists in the win.
Carnegie finished with a game-high 29 points on five three-pointers, and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Carnegie shined at the free throw line, converting 10-of-11 attempts. Ariadna Termis and Morgan both added 11 points to the scoreboard, while Blackshear finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for her sixth career double-double. Tech won the battle on the glass, 44-30, and dished out 20 assists on 27 made field goals. Morgan led Tech with 11 assists for her second-straight double-double.
Kymora Johnson led Virginia with 22 points as the Cavaliers were limited to a 39.7 percent shooting efficiency. Latasha Lattimore finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Breona Hurd tallied 16 points.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Sunday, Jan. 26, welcoming Duke to McCamish Pavilion. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
PURCHASE TICKETS FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Single-game tickets for the season remain on sale. Single game tickets begin at just $10 for general admission seating and are $12 for reserved seating. Youth pricing begins at $8 per game and are available day of game, while group ticket packages are on sale for 10 or more tickets at $5 per ticket. Please contact the Georgia Tech Athletic Association ticket office for more information on group tickets at tickets@athletics.gatech.edu. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting RamblinWreck.com or by calling the Georgia Tech ticket office at 1-888-TECH-TIX.
GEORGIA TECH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
Georgia Tech is celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s basketball on The Flats this season. Under the direction of coach Jim Culpepper, Georgia Tech competed its first year in the Georgia Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (GAIAW) in 1974-75 before joining the ACC in 1979-80. Tech has seen many highlights over 50 years, including playing in the NCAA Tournament 11 times, with two Sweet 16 appearances (2012, 2021), and producing nine WNBA draft picks, featuring first round draft picks Alex Montgomery and Sasha Goodlett. In its first postseason berth in school history, Georgia Tech captured the 1992 National Women’s Invitational Tournament. Currently in its sixth season under head coach Nell Fortner, the Yellow Jackets have reach postseason play three times in the last five years.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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